The week came and went like a bunch of cut flowers, and before I knew it, the day of my battle with Deidra had arrived. Unfortunately, I couldn't shake the raging headache that had been with me for two days, the result of a change I made before Friday night's training. Nothing seemed to help, not even meditation, and I resorted to taking pain reliever every six hours to manage it. While my subconscious tried to convince me I was sabotaging my chances for a fair fight with Deidra, I also wanted to blame the fire mantra I'd been practicing.

Deidra arrived in New York the night before, bunking with the Cromwells rather than with Colin. Vincent suspected the move was made to spite Colin and prove her loyalty to Vincent, but the text he received from Rafael confirmed that Deidra was still not ready to settle down. Apparently, she had walked into Rafael's bedroom wet from a shower and wrapped only in a towel. She wanted to ask for his support in the arena, but the conversation could have waited until she'd put on some clothes.

As far as Colin was concerned, I had not seen nor heard from him since the rec room incident, apart from his apology call a few hours afterward. Despite his joke about the yoga ball trying to join the battle, I could tell he was hurting. Not only from the wounds he'd received at the hands of his maniacal brother, but from his wounded heart. He also apologized for the incident in his foyer, but his need to recount every detail of that experience was unnecessary. Somehow, we managed never to pass in the hall or take the elevator together, and I concluded he and Vincent had worked that out via text messages.

As I pounded down three more aspirin, Amelia and Griffin came by.

"Hey, Reese. How are you feeling today?" Amelia asked as she glanced at the bottle of pain meds on the kitchen counter.

"I'd love to get rid of this infernal headache, but as far as my battle skills, I just hope to keep my limbs intact."

"Ew." Griffin grimaced as she crouched to pet the dogs. "Vincent won't let Deidra hurt you that bad. He'll make sure she fights fair."

Amelia wrinkled her forehead, making me think she didn't believe Deidra would fight fair. "Adam booked the underground arena for a private event. That should keep the riff-raff out, but news of the fight has spread, so be prepared for a crowd."

Ugh.

I nodded as I put away the aspirin bottle. "What should I wear? Just my regular training gear?"

"No way," Griffin said as she popped up to join us. "Mother and I are here to take you to our favorite sporting goods store. We're going to make you look bad to the bone." She grinned at her mom, which earned her a pat on the shoulder.

"Simmer down, Griffin. Reese needs to choose how she wants to present herself."

I smiled at Griffin. "I'm thinking something with a superhero vibe. Can you help me with that?"

Griffin pumped her fist in the air. "Totally!"

I spent the morning seeking out my badass battle gear, something in spandex that accommodated wings. Griffin wanted red, blue and gold, the colors of Wonder Woman, but I went with black on black in honor of my favorite Marvel superhero, Black Widow. Griffin agreed enthusiastically on the compromise, and when we returned home, she plaited my hair into a pair of fishtail braids.

I arrived at the arena in the company of Vincent, Amelia, and Jonathan, although half the city's gollums showed up for the fight, with a handful of demons and humans making up the rest of the spectators. Vincent asked Colin to stay home, which sucked, but it was what it was.

"Don't think about the audience, Reese," Vincent said as he crouched in front of me as I sat in my corner. "It's just you and Deidra out there. And don't underestimate her ability to play dirty, especially if you start besting her."

As I listened to his pep talk, I stared at Deidra across the mat. Dressed in a turquoise on black body suit, she looked powerful and hot. The bitch. Rafael had agreed to act as Deidra's water boy, but he still offered me an encouraging smile when I caught his eye. I figured he had my back if Deidra tried to stab it. At the worst, my recently enhanced skills at conjuring fireballs would help me out.

"Are you ready for the change?" Vincent's voice broke my concentration as I imagined Deidra bursting into flames in her hot bodysuit.

"Do we have to change at the same time... Deidra and me?" I fidgeted with my sports bra. Hopefully, Amelia had measured the crisscross design properly and I wouldn't expose myself in front of an arena full of spectators.

"There is no protocol. Each of you will be vulnerable at some point, but making the change first is a sign of dominance."

"Oh, really? Well, I guess I can't put it off forever."

Vincent brought his mouth to my ear and kissed it. "You always have a choice, Reese."

"I know. I also follow through with plans I commit to."

I ignored the dull ache in my head and recited the transformation mantra, hoping the change would not intensify the throb like it had been. As if in defiance, my head splintered into a web of pain, raking the inside of my scalp like fingernails. No, like talons, and I fell forward onto my knees as I cried out pitifully.

"Reese, what's happening?" Vincent's booming voice hit me like a railroad spike, and I winced away from him.

"My head. It's going to explode."

As my body went through the change, I closed my eyes and covered my head with my arms, breathing in mat dust as I waited to die. Could anyone see the split in my skull? Was there a lot of blood?

"Baby, what can I do?" Vincent sounded desperate, and I heard Jonathan's voice next to him.

"Don't touch her. She might backhand you."

"I've never backhanded anyone," Amelia argued.

Any further conversation got lost in the tempest inside my head. Only buzzing and flashing lights remained. Then the stars winked off. Then everything went black.

~ ~ ~

"Reese, can you hear me?" Vincent's voice trickled in as I waited to succumb to my death. "If you can hear me, give me a sign."

I groaned when I realized I hadn't died, but now I knew hell was real. "Is there a lot of blood?"

"There's no blood. Where's the pain?"

"In my skull. I want you to shoot me and put me out of my misery."

I felt Vincent stiffen under me. Apparently, I had been lifted onto his lap during my lapse in consciousness. "How about six hundred milligrams of ibuprofen?"

"You don't have anything stronger? Like a sledgehammer?"

"Open your eyes, Reese."

Vincent tried to sound commanding, but there was clear worry in his tone. I blinked open my eyes, grateful for Vincent's hulking head, which blocked the beam of fluorescent light. Another couple blinks, and a bunch of faces appeared in my peripherals. Every one of them wore expressions of worry.

"That was the scariest change I have ever witnessed," Amelia said as her head moved into my field of vision. "We thought you'd stopped breathing. Vincent was ready to give you mouth to mouth."

"That would have been a welcome death," I mumbled. "I was promised ibuprofen." I held out my hand and three tablets were placed into it by Jonathan, who gaped at me wide-eyed. "Thanks, Jonathan. You look like you've seen a ghost. Was it that bad?"

"Yeah. I think I understand why you've been having the headaches."

I popped the aspirin in my mouth, and Vincent handed me a water bottle to drink them down. "Really? What makes you say that?"

"Well..." Jonathan glanced at the faces encircling me, and before he could give his answer, Deidra stomped across the mat, trash talking as she came.

"What the hell is going on inside this circle of... Holy shit! She's got horns."

Horns?

"Play nice." Vincent growled at Deidra, but she ignored him completely.

"Get up and fight, hybrid freak. Don't you want to show off those horns to your demon friends?"

Vincent growled again. Louder this time. "Back off, Deidra!"

Deidra clicked her tongue as she looked down her nose at Vincent. "What happened to you, Vincent? You used to be hard and unapologetic. I'd hate to see you lose your edge."

Vincent unapologetically glared at Deidra. "Since you have opened the battlefield to verbal assaults... regardless of the outcome of this fight, I would not take you as a mate if you were the last female gollum on the planet."

A chorus of voices responded with 'Harsh' and 'Snap', while Deidra rolled her eyes as if his hurtful words had not phased her.

"Clearly, you have no interest in keeping your magister status," she quipped.

"You're right. I would rather be with Reese than be a magister."

As they bantered, I took the opportunity to right myself against Vincent's chest, taking comfort in his commanding voice at my ear.

"Leverage can be a powerful tool in getting what you want," Deidra went on boldly. "I could make your lives a living hell... you and that freak." She sharpened her eyebrows, making her look like a villain, but it didn't help her case. She was floundering.

"Who are you calling a freak, Freak?" I said.

"Did you just call me a freak?" Deidra's eyes flickered menacingly as she opened her wings and flapped them, stirring up dust on the mat. "Get your lame ass up and fight me, cunt."

"Deidra!"

Vincent shouted his warning but it didn't deter her. She snorted and bounced on her taloned feet like a well-honed fighting machine, ready to take on everyone in the house. Deidra knew this battle was a lost cause. Even if she won by forfeit, the magister council could not force Vincent to mate with her. She was playing all her cards in a last-ditch effort.

Luckily, my body had recovered enough to give me the strength to push off Vincent's lap, and the crowd took in a collective gasp. Vincent followed me up, cradling my hips in his hands.

"Reese, there is no punishment for refusing a challenge," he said.

"I know. But, if I can't stand-up to bullies, how will I teach our kids to stand-up to them?"

I knew he wanted to agree with me, but he was probably too anxious to say it. Instead, he held me while I found my center of gravity. Deidra was already halfway to me when I noticed her in my peripherals, and she barreled into my side with bulldozing strength, knocking me clean off my feet. The impact on my wings sent a shockwave of pain through me, but tensile strength won-out, and I brushed it off, focusing my efforts on rolling away.

Deidra's leg stopped me, and she dropped to straddle my chest, holding my wings down with her knees as she grabbed me around the neck. Before I saw it coming, her elbow came down on my cheek, filling my head with more pain and riling up the crowd. As she cocked back to take another jab, I jerked sideways to miss her next attempt by a whisper, and I used my left wing and a good amount of body strength to unseat her long enough to wiggle away.

"Why are you running?" she whined, grappling for a hand-hold on my ankle. "Just hold still and get this over with so you can go home and hide those hideous horns."

Her insult roused a few boos, but she ignored their taunts as she chased me on her hands and knees. I flung my foot out to kick her in the chest, but she was ready for me and yanked me up by my calf, flinging me backwards. A nanosecond later, I was flat on the mat. Damn her.

"A rookie move," she snorted. "I learned how to defend against those at age six."

"I know. Two brothers and a cousin. I heard the story."

"What?"

My comment stopped her mid-attack, and she backed up to look at me. Of course, I took full advantage of her stupor and scrambled to my feet.

"I heard you've been defending yourself all your life. I understand your need to beat the shit out of people."

"You don't know anything. Shut up and fight."

Deidra shook off her confusion and came at me, but I spun out of her reach, dodging her assaults for a few beats before landing a decent hit to her left shoulder. She cursed and tried to retaliate, but I ducked and came up under her chest, grabbing her arm and hauling her over my back. Our wings briefly tangled before I released her, and she landed on her side with satisfying thud. She wasn't that heavy at all, but now she was pissed, and her face pinched with fury as I threw myself on top of her before she could get up.

"I know a few things," I said as I battled her for control. "You're not the only one with leverage to wield."

Deidra's eyes widened, but she feigned disinterest at my banter, focusing instead on throwing me off with super strength. I landed pretty well, using the ropes of the ring to halt my momentum. That's when I realized my head didn't hurt as badly, and I took a moment to assess my competitor. I had her beat in mass, but her muscle tone reigned supreme, as well as her reflexes, and she used those to lunge forward and tackle me back to the ground.

"You're a pathetic, ignorant hybrid who doesn't deserve to take the name Valentino," she spat. "And you talk too damn much." Deidra jammed her knee into my groin and pain shot straight to my abdomen. My body reacted by curling in on itself, and the next thing I felt was the sharp point of her claw under my chin. "Never expose your weakness to your enemy," she said as she dragged her talon across my throat.

"Fight's over!" Vincent's roar echoed inside the arena, and a bell followed his command as he stomped across the mat and lifted Deidra up by her shoulders, shoving her toward her corner. Then he swiftly extracted me from the ring and carried me off.

"Don't forget who won this challenge!" Deidra called behind us. "I can rightfully petition to take Vincent as my mate!"

Thankfully, the crowd noise drowned her out, and all I heard was the settling of bets during my trip to the medic's table, which had been set-up inside a large supply closet. While Vincent and Amelia bandaged my chin, I watched their gazes flick to my forehead. A couple of times, I caught a silhouette of the horns through my peripheral view. What did Vincent think of them? Was he having second thoughts?

"You need to lie still while the blood forms a clot," Amelia said when they had finished up. "Are you thirsty?"

"Very."

"I'll get your water bottle."

Amelia took off, leaving Vincent and me alone. I could tell there were others in the room, but I couldn't see their faces from my prone position on the table.

"How is your head feeling? Does it still hurt?" Vincent asked softly.

"Not much. Now, it's my chin."

"I knew Deidra wouldn't play fair. This was a doomed proposition from the start."

"She drew first blood with her claw. How is that not playing fair?"

"Her verbal banter... the threat about leverage. That was bullshit."

"Well, she got the fight she wanted, and I got the prize she wanted. So, I'd say I came out ahead."

Vincent offered me a weak smile as he lowered over my face and pressed his lips to my mouth. "You are beautiful, inside and out. Don't ever doubt that."

"Hey, no kissing while your chin is clotting," Amelia said as she walked in with my water bottle. "You'll need to sit up to drink."

With Vincent on one side and Amelia on the other, they lifted me to an upright position and I hydrated, taking care not to disturb my wound as I swallowed. That's when I realized Jonathan and Claudette were standing in the doorway.

"Come on over," I said.

"I don't want you to think I'm being disrespectful," Claudette said as she hurried to stand next to her sister. "Wow. They're cute on you, but you've got cuteness in spades, so you could grow a third eye and make it look good."

"Thanks, Claudette. I think."

"No talking," Amelia grumbled.

Jonathan appeared on the other side of Amelia, and he leaned in to inspect my horns. "They're small, which is typical for females, but I wonder if you only experienced partial growth because it's your first time."

"I've never seen white ones," Claudette added. "If they were on Deidra's head, they'd be black with thorns on them." She and Amelia chuckled as they nudged each other, and I couldn't help feeling a little cheered by their insults at Deidra's expense.

"Don't worry about Deidra's threat to petition the magisters," Amelia said as she patted my arm. "She knows it won't stand."

"What about her threat to use leverage?" I said.

"Deidra was just blowing hot air with that threat," Vincent said. "Even she isn't foolish enough to play the leverage card when she has nothing to gain from it. The only thing she's proven is her fighting skills against an unseasoned gollum."

Everyone agreed with Vincent, offering a simultaneous head bob, but Vincent saved his covert gaze for me. We still hadn't shared the real reason we left the domus last week, and nobody had probed us for information. They all knew we needed a break. But, Vincent and I still had not come up with evidence that could prove Marco's guilt. If we could do that, we would have some serious leverage to wield.